TORONTO - A Toronto Right to Life campaign has taken to the subway system to promote adoption as a life-affirming alternative to abortion.

The ads began running April 18 and will continue til May 15.

“I wanted my baby to have a Dad and Mom,” reads the ad from a birth mother. The ad features the silhouette of a family.

“The purpose of the ad is to raise awareness and understanding about infant adoption,” said Toronto Right to Life in a statement. “All of this can help women make an informed, pressure-free decision about adoption as a life-affirming choice.”

The ad also features the AdoptioninCanada.ca web site that contains information about open adoption, testimonials from women who chose to place their children for adoption and pregnancy assistance organizations.

In fact, the Jesuit priest and professor of philosophy at John Carroll University in Cleveland wrote both an MA thesis and PhD dissertation on the Golden Rule. He’s also published 12 books on ethics and logic — most involving the Golden Rule.

And on May 11, he’ll be sharing his knowledge on the Golden Rule in a lecture at Scarboro Missions. He’ll be discussing how to use it wisely and avoid fallacies.

Church leaders from Canada, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America will gather in Toronto for an ecumenical conference on mining from May 1-3.

Hosted by KAIROS and several of its member institutions in partnership with Norwegian Church Aid, they will be joined by indigenous partners, social partners from the Global South, Church members and agency staff.

The gathering is meant to develop alliances between leaders from the North and South in an effort to achieve mining justice around the world.

With so many promises being made in the lead-up to the May 2 election, it can be easy to lose track of the issues that matter. Here are the promises the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP are making to young people, straight from their party platforms.

Employment- To encourage youth getting hired, a Youth Hiring Incentive will give small and medium-sized businesses a full rebate on Employment Insurance premiums for every Canadian youth — between the ages of 18 and 25 — hired.

Education- Addressing the costs of post-secondary education, the Canadian Learning Passport will provide $1,000 a year (or $1,500 a year for low-income families) over four years for every high school student to use towards college or university.

Health Promotion in Schools- Through the proposed Canadian Health Promotion Strategy, the Liberals will work with the Council of Ministers of Education to set targets for physical activity in schools and encourage education and promotion of healthy foods in primary and elementary schools.

Service- Initiate a Canadian Services Corps to financially support Canadian youth wishing to do volunteer service abroad. - The Canada Service Corps will forgive $1,500 in student loan debt for young Canadians who donate at least 150 hours of service in a year, in a Canada Service Corps volunteer position, after graduating from post-secondary education.

Employment- Extend support for the Canada Youth Business Foundation, which provides loans and mentoring to young entrepreneurs.

Education- Enhance the Canada Student Loans Program for part-time students to respond to increased demand for assistance in career transition through post-secondary education.- Double the work exemption for Canada Student Loans to allow students to benefit more from part-time employment.- 30 industrial research chairs will be established at colleges and polytechnics so students can interact with innovative researchers.

Education- The NDP proposes to increase the funding to the Canada Student Grants Program by $200 million a year, targeting accessibility for aboriginals, disabled and low-income students. - Make post-secondary education more affordable by directly attacking rising tuition costs with an $800-million transfer to the provinces and territories to lower tuition fees, as per the NDP’s Post-Secondary Education Act.- Raise the education tax credit from $4,800 per year to $5,760 to help with increasing education costs.

Employment- Re-introduce the federal minimum wage law to set a national standard of earning for those who make the lowest wages in the work force.

TORONTO - Ann Perron, the Toronto Catholic District School Board’s director of education, announced her retirement on April 14.

During her tenure, Perron’s accomplishments have included the “implementation of a balanced and sustainable multi-year budget plan, a review of school board governance and the initiation of a three-year pastoral plan to ‘Nurture our Catholic Community Through Word, Worship and Witness,’ ” the TCDSB said in a statement.

Perron began her career as a teacher with the board in 1983. She taught in elementary and high schools and also worked as an elementary school principal. She has served as the provincial co-ordinator for the Institute for Catholic Education. From there, she became a superintendent with the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario.

Perron also served as strategic advisor to the deputy minister of education in 2008. Perron returned to the Toronto board to take on the director of education role in March 2009.